Founder Gordon C. Greene | Founded 1890 | |
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The Greene Line was a line of river steamships along the Ohio River. The name was later changed to Delta Queen Steamboat Company.
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History
The company was started in 1890 by Gordon C. Greene with Henry K. Bedford. When Gordon died in 1927 his sons: Christopher Becker Greene, Henry Wilkins Greene, and Thomas R. Greene ran the company.
In 1973 the company's name was changed to the Delta Queen Steamboat Company as the Greene family was no longer involved. In April 1976, the Delta Queen was sold to the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York. Soon after that the Prudential Lines Inc. of San Francisco, California, became involved. In the early 1980s Sam Zell and Bob Lurie of Chicago, Illinois, acquired control of the outstanding stock. (Compensation to stockholders also included lifetime membership in the "Mark Twain Association," which grants half-price discounts on all Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen excursions.)
On October 19, 2001, American Classical Voyages, the parental company of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company and still under control of Sam Zell, filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. All boats finished their cruises except the Delta Queen which finished the season on January 5, 2002. Fortunately, the Delta Queen Steamboat Company was bought by Delaware North Companies, Inc., and the Delta Queen went back in service on August 26, 2002, the year of her 75th birthday.
In 2006 the Delta Queen Steamboat Company was sold again, this time to Ambassadors International, who formed a new cruise line called Majestic America Line, running now also the Empress of the North, the Columbia Queen, the Queen of the West and other ships.
Since the exemption for the Delta Queen from the Safety at Sea Act expired at the end of October 2008 she is no longer allowed to carry overnight passengers. As of February 2009 she is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Delta Queen fans are still working on getting a renewal of the exemption from Congress.